"I'm here. What's going on, everyone?"

Xie Lian asked leisurely. There was the large group of cultivators and a smaller group of villagers who came out of their concern for Xie Lian. One of the villagers asked while trembling,

"Daozhang, these eminent monks and cultivators all say that in your house, there's a ...a ...ghost..."

Xie Lian smiled, "Eh? You can tell?"

"What a fast admittance!"

Xie Lian nodded, "That is true. It's a vicious ghost robe, which I stumbled upon the other day. I plan to travel a far distance to have it sealed in a few days. So there is no need for my fellow tradesmans to worry about."

"Don't play pretend, my friend. A monster far more malicious than some robe you picked up somewhere is now hiding in your house. You know exactly what we're here for."

A luxuriously-dressed cultivator raised his voice using spiritual energy and coerced Xie Lian. Even the other cultivators around flinched a bit hearing his voice. Xie Lian's smile didn't falter while listening to this luxuriously-dressed cultivator. Hearing the voice, he also knew this man wasn't weak; definitely someone who had cultivated arduously for years, and someone considerable.

A number of monks said to the luxuriously-dressed cultivator, "Dao-xiong, this cultivator looks to be bursting with the essence of evil from his body, could he maybe be..."
That luxuriously-dressed cultivator said, "Whether he is or not, I, Heaven's Eye, can tell with but a look!"
Then, he gave a loud shout, bit his finger, and drew a line on his forehead; a seeming third eye grew on his face. Seeing his skill, Xie Lian also praised mentally, and he leaned against the door, admiring his performance. That luxuriously-dressed cultivator glared, and stared at him intently for a moment.

"I knew it... there's the essence of evil! SUCH A HEAVY ESSENCE OF EVIL!!! GHOST KING! YOU DID CHANGE FACE AFTER ALL!"

Xie Lian was stunned.
How could he, an esteemed, titled heavenly official, have the essence of evil on him? He was just thinking this man might have some skill, but how did he turn around and start spewing nonsense so quickly?

Hearing him, the sixty to seventy masters in the gathering all looked like they were about to face a great enemy, and each of them struck their fighting stance.

Hua Cheng said to Xie Lian in the private communication array, "Those people are so annoying."
"It's fine. It's alright. You just sit," Xie Lian replied.

A moment later, that luxuriously-dressed cultivator spoke up again, but in a confused tone, "...That's not right?"
The monks next to him asked, "What's not right?"
That luxuriously-dressed cultivator rubbed that blood mark on his forehead. "This is weird. I'm looking at this man, but he's sometimes covered in that essence of evil, sometimes glowing with spiritual light, and sometimes dim and listless... this is really weird."

"Huh? How can that be? Dao-xiong, can you really do this? If you can't, let us handle this."
"Yeah, how can he be that strange?"

That luxuriously-dresed cultivator said angrily, "What? Think I can't do this? If I can't, you think you can? I, Heaven's Eye, have been running in the trade for so many years, and I've rarely gotten anything wrong!"

Xie Lian rubbed his forehead, shook his head, and asked gently, "Then, why don't you take a look and tell me which part of me has the strongest essence of evil?"
Heaven's Eye rubbed his forehead hard, and after looking again for a moment, he exclaimed firmly, "YOUR LIPS!"

"..."

"That's right, it's your lips!"
Heaven's Eye proclaimed this with such certainty, yet all the monks and cultivators were perplexed.

"Why is it the lips?"
"How can the essence of evil only be on the lips? A Lip Balm Spirit?'

Without thinking, Xie Lian's hands instantly flew to cover his mouth.
He hadn't thought that the essence Hua Cheng had stained upon him after having embraced and kissed an entire night at Qiandeng Temple hadn't yet faded.

Heaven's Eye pointed at him. "Well, well, well, do you all see? He's conscious of his guilt!"

Xie Lian immediately dropped his hands, and forced himself to suppress the urge to turn around and see what expression Hua Cheng wore after having heard. He tried to explain but his head was a bit mumbled. Heaven's Eye took advantage of his hesitation and charged towards the Puqi Shrine.

Seeing the situation change so quickly, Xie Lian hurriedly back into the shrine. He picked up the passed-out Quan Yizhen from the ground, madly shook his collar, and cried next to his ear, "Qi Ying! Listen well! I am going to feed you an Incorruptible Chastity Meatball!"
Hearing this, Quan Yizhen's eyes suddenly flashed open. At the same time, Heaven's Eye, who had just charged in, shrieked, covered his forehead, and leapt back out.

"DON'T ANYONE GO IN! THERE'S AN AMBUSH!"

Sure enough, the crowd of monks and cultivators didn't dare to move, and they gathered around to shield him.

"Heaven's Eye-xiong, what did you see?"

Heaven's Eye said, "I didn't see anything, only an immense, blinding white light!"

"Oh no, Dao-xiong! Your Heaven's eye is smoking!"

Heaven's Eye felt his forehead, and sure enough, that red mark on his forehead had turned into a black mark, and it was emitting a soft waft of white smoke like that of a blown-out candle.
Shocked and dismayed, he exclaimed, "What... WHAT?!"

Ling Wen lazily put down her half-eaten steamed bun and wondered, "It's so noisy outside, what's going on?"

A monk said, "Heaven's Eye-xiong, look. There are three children and a woman, plus this cultivator, inside that shrine. There are four people. Which one is 'him'?"

Heaven's Eye rubbed hard at his forehead, but he just couldn't reopen his eye. That ball of white light was the spiritual aura of Quan Yizhen. When a heavenly official sensed themselves about to face extreme danger, their lives challenged, the spiritual aura shielding their body would explosively expand. Xie Lian was using that moment of explosively strong light to blind that cultivator Heaven's Eye. It wasn't like Xie Lian had ruined ten years of his cultivation; he just wouldn't be able to open his eye in the next few days, that was all. Then, Xie Lian picked up the plate holding the meatballs.

Quan Yizhen was fully awake now, and he grabbed Xie Lian's hand forcefully, croaking, "I won't eat it."

Xie Lian reversed the hold and held his hand. "Don't be scared, this isn't for you!"

The band of masters heavily surrounding Puqi Shrine all shared looks with each other, and almost uniformly shouted, rushing forward. However, before Xie Lian could meet them, they were bounced away by an invisible barrier.

From the skies above, a deep voice sounded: "You bold monks and foul cultivators are like flies, have you all become obsessed with harassment? You dare pursue me all the way here, are you all tired of living?!"

"Hua, Hua, Hua..."
He stuttered "Hua" several times, but in the end, Heaven's Eye still succumbed to Hua Cheng's might and didn't dare call him by his full name.
Instead, he stammered, "...HUA CHENGZHU! Stop, stop bluffing. We all know that you've been affected by the imminent opening of Mount Tong'lu and sealed away your powers. You can't possibly be as insolent as you usually are right now. Sur, sure, surrender yourself..."

The more he spoke, the less strength there was in his words. Xie Lian could sense Hua Cheng was really angry now, and immediately, he rushed back inside to pick him up.
He whispered, "Don't say anymore! Stop wasting your powers, store your strength. Leave everything to me!"

Hua Cheng's body was tense at first, but after he was picked up, he seemed to calm down slowly. He replied with a low voice, "Alright."

Then, Xie Lian whispered to Wei Ying, "A-Ying, you have to stay away while Baba is fighting. Don't come closer and stick close to Qi Ying and let him protect you. But if things seem too out of hand, just run out of the village. I'll come find you no matter what. Alright?"

"En." Wei Ying nodded, and he took out Suibian.

Holding Hua Cheng, Xie Lian could sense that Hua Cheng's age seemed to have regressed; he was probably no more than a child of twelve or thirteen, even younger than Wei Ying. Xie Lian couldn't help but be worried. With one arm holding Hua Cheng, and the other hand clutching Fangxin, he walked out.

"Did none of you ever consider that the Green Ghost Qi Rong was deceiving you?"

Yet unexpectedly, when they heard him, the monks and cultivators all looked confused.

Heaven's Eye asked, "Green Ghost Qi Rong? Deceive us what? Why would he deceive us?"

Xie Lian frowned slightly. "Wasn't it him who told you all to come here?"

Heaven's Eye clicked his tongue. "Who do you think we are; that we need a Savage to pass us information? Why would we float on the same boat as him?!"

It wasn't Qi Rong? Then how did information leak?

Before he could think about it more, the monks and cultivators had already started their attacks. With a swing of his sword, Xie Lian warded off a number of swords and several staffs.

A monk questioned, "Amitabha Buddha, why must this Dao friend protect this creature of evil?"

Xie Lian wouldn't back down an inch, still flawlessly swinging his sword. He replied, "Master, no matter what, it's not nice to ambush people when they're down."

Heaven's Eye shouted, "He's a ghost, not a person! Don't twist rotten logic, you immature young'un!"

Spiritual staffs and treasured swords and blades all came attacking at once. If Xie Lian used Fangxin, he might hurt mortals. By the creed of justice, mortals could hit heavenly officials, but heavenly officials could not hit mortals; heavenly officials must be tolerant, generous, compassionate, and loving towards mortals, not clashing with them. If one dared hit a mortal, then merits would be taken. Xie Lian wasn't as unrestrained and wealthy as Quan Yizhen; he didn't have many merits in the first place. If more were taken away, he'd be in the negatives. Thus, he put away his sword and shouted, "RUOYE, COME! QI YING, WATCH LING WEN AND PROTECT A-YING!"

The next second, a white flash whipped past the hands of tens of people; when their strength became unsteady, they could no longer hold on to their spiritual tools.

Bewildered, they all wondered, "What spiritual tool is that?"

"Was that a spiritual tool? ...How come it looks like a white cloth for hanging to me? It reeks of evil..."

"Who could have known! This brat actually has a couple of moves!"

Unexpectedly, just as Xie Lian was in the midst of fending off those masters, Ling Wen shook her head, cleaned her sleeves and rose to her feet.

"Thank you for your warm hospitality. I will take my leave now."

Xie Lian was taken aback. "Ling Wen, the day's not over yet! Where are you going? Are you going to break your vow?"

"That's right. I'm going to break my vow," Ling Wen said.

Her voice was confident and determined, like she was saying she was about to slay evil by heaven's will. Xie Lian couldn't retaliate.

A brief moment later, he stated, "The one who leaked information wasn't Qi Rong, it was you."

Ling Wen smiled. "I may not be a martial god, and was bound by Ruoye, but one can accomplish much with just the communication array."

Seeing that she was about to take her stately leave but Xie Lian still couldn't get away, he shouted, "QI YING! DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!"

Although he ate an Incorruptible Chastity Meatball earlier, Quan Yizhen could move himself off the ground now, his strength returning. Besides, Ling Wen was a civil god; she was powerless, and Quan Yizhen could stop her without even using a single finger. Hearing Quan Yizhen acknowledge "OKAY!" from afar, Xie Lian focused on subduing the crowd faster. He still couldn't relax leaving Wei Ying alone in that situation.

Not a moment later, there was a sudden rumble, and the roof of Puqi Shrine was punched through; a silhouette of a figure was blown high into the air.

Xie Lian turned to look, shocked and shouted with a face filled with worry, "A-YING!!"

It was nothing for martial gods to get tossed around; martial gods all grew up getting beaten. But no matter how you look at it, Ling Wen was a lady heavenly official, and a civil god at that; if Quan Yizheng fought so ruthlessly, she'd be pulverized! Even more so, it could be dangerous for Wei Ying since the roof collapsed!

Xie Lian thought it was Ling Wen who got tossed by Quan Yizhen but the one who walked out leisurely was the female god, Ling Wen. And carrying in her arm was a passed-out Wei Ying.

"Your Highness should move your son to somewhere safe first. This is not a fight a mortal like him can handle."

Xie Lian's eyes bulged as much as Hua Cheng's. But Ling Wen was still carrying Wei Ying in her hands, they couldn't be reckless.

"LING WEN ZHEN JUN! IF YOU DARE HURT A-YING...!"

Xie Lian shouted with anger, glaring at Ling Wen.

"I will not, Your Highness. But you will have to let me go."

Xie Lian could not believe that Ling Wen would kidnap his son to threaten him. Xie Lian couldn't do anything but gnashed his teeth. At that time, the attacks of the crowd were not getting any weaker either; leaving him no room to breathe.

Ling Wen was a civil god, that was for certain. If she had hidden her strength intentionally in the past, she still couldn't deceive Xie Lian, so how could she suddenly blow Quan Yizhen into the sky? Hua Cheng said, "Gege. She's put on that robe. Be careful."

Having been reminded, Xie Lian took another look at Ling Wen. Sure enough, that was it. Although on the surface, it looked like Ling Wen was still clad in black, a simmering black aura was shielding her, seeming like she had changed into a completely different person.

"Fine. Leave A-Ying, I will not pursue you any longer." Xie Lian gave an answer.

Ling Wen watched over with a cold gaze, then left Wei Ying at a corner of Puqi Shrine. Then, just when she was about to take off, Quan Yizhen, who had been falling from the sky, landed a strike on her. However, with her forearms up, she blocked the attack of the God of West. But the force of Quan Yizhen was too strong, it left a large dent around them, causing Puqi Shrine to crumble. Xie Lian's heart clenched, but he was relieved to see Wei Ying was safe. It was because Ling Wen had placed him in a secluded corner, where the debris of the house wouldn't harm him much, as if she suspected that the house would collapse any minute. That's why Wei Ying remained safe even under a collapsed house.

It was without a doubt that Xie Lian's heart ached, to see the house he had lived with his family over the past six years crumble to debris. But the situation was too urgent for him to grieve for that. After Ling Wen had blocked Quan Yizhen's attack, Quan Yizhen seemed to be greatly impressed by her skills or rather the skills of the Brocade Immortal on her. And, he kept on attacking her without holding back.

"IF YOU TWO ARE GOING TO FIGHT, GET OUT OF THE VILLAGE!"

Xie Lian knew Quan Yizhen was a fighting-crazed maniac so he wouldn't be able to tell him to tone the fight down so that the village wouldn't be destroyed. Even within the few seconds that Ling Wen and Quan Yizhen sparred here, the Puqi Shrine crumbled, the hill on which the shrine had built on had a large dent. So, when the two left, Xie Lian already felt thankful enough. The only thing left to handle was the crowd of monks and cultivators.

Heaven's Eye and the other monks and cultivators undoubtedly witnessed the scene of Ling Wen and Quan Yizhen fighting, and causing a large dent on the hill.

"What the fuckk?! How can the two fight like that?!! Is there anyone normal inside that shrine? I think not a single soul there is human!"

Heaven's Eye roared, his attacks becoming fiercer, "You young'un with nothing but tricks! You dare ruin my cultivation! Who's your master? What generation do you belong to? Which temple are you registered under? What sort of god do you worship?!"

Xie Lian whipped his head over, and a biting chill flashed before his face. He straightened and stated solemnly:

"You ask who I am? LISTEN WELL! ...I, AM THE EMINENT HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE! You riotous radicals, BOW DOWN BEFORE ME!"

His voice boomed like thunder in clear skies. There were actually a few who almost dropped to their knees, and didn't snap out of it until their companions pulled them up. Wei Ying who slowly woke up after Puqi Shrine crumbled beside him, saw this scene as he regained his consciousness. He couldn't believe his ears and wondered if his A-die had pretended to be his Baba.

"What are you doing? Are you actually kneeling?" One of the cultivators said to his companion.

"Th- that's weird, I did it before I realized it..."

Xie Lian proclaimed sharply:

"I, AM OVER EIGHT HUNDRED. OLDER THAN ALL OF YOU COMBINED. I'VE CROSSED MORE BRIDGES THAN ALL OF THE ROADS YOU'VE WALKED.

"I, POSSESS SHRINES AND TEMPLES ACROSS THIS LAND; MY DEVOTEES AND WORSHIPPERS ARE SPREAD TO ALL FOUR SEAS. IF YOU DON'T KNOW MY NAME, IT'S BECAUSE YOU ARE IGNORANT AND UNLEARNED OF THE WORLD!

"I, DO NOT WORSHIP GODS.

"I, AM GOD!"

When the mob heard this speech, that was so shameless yet spoken with an incomparably impressive air, they were all stunned, and dropped their jaws, including Wei Ying.

"...HUH???"

Xie Lian talked all that nonsense because he was waiting for this very moment. He flung that plate in his hand, and all those little white meatballs shot out through the air like iron pellets, scattering in all directions. Without any misses, they were hurled right into the open mouths of all those people in shock. Then he wiped away his sweat.

"Will everyone please forget everything I just said? I'm actually only just a scrap collector!"

Everyone who ate a meatball instantly dropped to the ground.

"HUH?! WE, WE'VE BEEN HAD!"

A few who were quicker on their feet had stopped the meatball with their swords, but when they brought the swords up, those meatballs were actually still spinning rapidly, creating sparks with the blades from the friction. The mob was terrified.

"WHAT... WHAT IS THIS HIDDEN WEAPON?!?! Incomparably solid with a peculiar shine, could this be? The legendary..."

"That's right!" Xie Lian claimed. "They're the legendary Incorruptible Chastity Pellets! Exceedingly poisonous, and if eight-one cups of clean water aren't drunk within a day to detox, then they will explode in your stomach!"

Although no one had ever heard of such a thing before, the mob grew even more horrified.

"Calm your nerves, brothers. Panicking before an enemy is an easy way to die."

A monk that seemed to be the oldest of them all and holding a grandiose staff said aloud, and the crowd seemed to calm down a bit. However, for those who had eaten the Incorruptible Chastity Meatball, their faces had already started to turn purple and their visions hazy.

"Respectable Monk... I believe... we should ...detoxify first..." A victim said, his voice barely coming out.

Xie Lian frowned. He wanted the crowd to scatter, for those who ate the meatball to go drink water and the rest to go help them. But because of what the monk had said, they were still on guard. Although over half of the crowd had eaten an Incorruptible Chastity Meatball, there were still about twenty of them left. If the rest decided to attack all out at once, it might be difficult to escape without hurting them.

The monk holding the grandiose staff looked intently at Xie Lian and then swept his gaze over to Heaven's Eye. Their gazes met and Xie Lian knew they had something planned. He took hold of Fangxin again.

"Heaven's Eye, we should finish it as we discussed!"

While saying so, the monk retreated about twenty steps and the others followed along. Xie Lian was puzzled, 'Were they not planning to do an all-out attack?'

In an instant, with the lead of the monk with the grandiose staff, all the sixty or seventy of monks and cultivators took out their beads and talismans. The monk did a clockwise swing with his staff above his head and pointed the staff forward, as if aiming at a place. The action was fast, and when Xie Lian realized it, the monk was already ready to unleash the power of all the beads and talismans combined. The impact would be unimaginable; it would have been enough to destroy a mountain. Xie Lian felt cold sweat come all over his back, as the staff was aimed at the collapsed Puqi Shrine!

Wei Ying was still beside the debris of the collapsed Puqi Shrine. His eyes widened at the brightening staff that was suddenly aimed in his direction. He tried to get up and run away but there was no way he could escape in time.

"A-YING!!"

Xie Lian ran over immediately. He was still holding Hua Cheng in his arms, but as soon as he arrived, he took Wei Ying in his arms as well. Xie Lian tightly held both Hua Cheng and Wei Ying in his chest as he kneeled down and covered them with his arms as much as possible.

The next moment, a frightening rumble roared, a large ray of fiery bright light exploded and the earth shook at its explosion.

Xie Lian coughed up a mouthful of blood. His face paling in an instant, but his arms holding Hua Cheng and Wei Ying were as tight as before.

Hua Cheng struggled out of Xie Lian's hold, finally able to look up at Xie Lian who had protected not only him but also Wei Ying from that explosion. As he looked up, he felt something cold touch his cheeks. It was the wet hair of Xie Lian. But why was it wet? Hua Cheng touched it, and he saw that his hand was tinted red.

His pupils contracted in a second. Why? Why was His Highness bleeding? He was sure that he put up a barrier right before the explosion, and yet why was Xie Lian bleeding?

"Respectable Monk-xiong... why did you shoot at the collapsed house?" Heaven's Eye asked.

"We were not sure which one was our real target. Anyone of them could have been 'him'. It is better to eliminate them all, than to regret later." The monk answered calmly.

"Did we get them?" Another cultivator asked as they all looked at the direction of the shrine. A thick fog of smoke was surrounding the shrine because of the explosion and they couldn't see clearly.

But suddenly, a strong gust of wind burst from the collapsed shrine and an enormous pressure fell upon the cultivators.

"You filthy bastards... You all must have been wishing for death so bad..."

A young boy that didn't seem to be older than twelve stood in front of the collapsed shrine. However, his eyes were boiling red, redder than any blood and fiercer than any predator.

"I shall grant your wish today."

Hua Cheng held up his palm at the crowd and in the next moment, a blood red fog covered the place and agonizing screams could be heard within the fog.

Only after the sounds had stopped completely and the fog had completely disappeared, the villagers of Puqi Village dare come out of their hiding spots. The place where their friendly Xie-daozhang's shrine once stood was nothing but burned ground by then and dozens of cultivators' corpses lay around. It wasn't as many as those that came but the number could count up to be about twenty to thirty. The rest of the monks and cultivators were nowhere to be seen. The villagers cleaned up the place, buried the corpses but they couldn't help but feel woeful as no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find Xie-daozhang or Xiao Wei at all, not even their bodies.